Bravado
by avariella
Summary: The word 'scholarship' is cursed to any girl who attends the prestigious Saint Anna's Academy. When Dimitri and Rose meet at a banquet for both Saint Anna's and Saint Vladimir's Academy, how will he react to her being a scholarship student? What happened in the past to make Dimitri not trust people? Bravado is a show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate.
1. Chapter 1

**Rose POV**

I had attended Saint Anna's Academy on a scholarship for about two months now. Let's just say the Academy is a living hell for any scholarship girl. Saint Anna's was a very prestigious school for rich girl's with fancy names. In order to keep up the school's grades as well as image, they give out scholarships for the arts to keep up their academic levels. It made it seem like it was actually possible to seem and act rich if you weren't, that all you had to be was intelligent and pretty. Except they gave people the wrong perspective. It was impossible to blend in at Saint Anna's all-girl Academy when the conversation was a constant blabber about what your parents owned, what your parents gave you as gifts, or which _country_ you visited over the weekend. How could it possibly matter if you were smart when the first thing they want to know is how many numbers follow your name? It wasn't like I wasn't pretty. It was the fact that the word scholarship was tacked to my name.

Within my first week of attending the Academy, I received several threats, people spit wherever I would go (which was odd since these girls were supposed to be the face of polite and proper), they put hair dye in my shampoo, and even went so low as to take my clothes and scatter them around campus. Yet I stayed nonetheless because they couldn't scare me off. They were surprised I had lasted so long, but thank god I did because then I would have left the only other scholarship girl at the Academy, Mia. Apparently she had it worse than me, to the point where they 'tripped' her and somehow she managed to break her arm and collarbone. Now the torture from these girls was divided between the two of us.

Mia was on scholarship for painting, and I was on scholarship for music. We were the only two students who could withstand the harshness of the Academy. In fact, Mia only stayed because her parents couldn't take her back since the Academy could provide her so much more than what they could. It was quite an awful thought if you think of what horrid conditions must lie at home that her parents couldn't accept her back although they knew what had happened to her. Plus, the snobs who put her through everything would easily get off from punishment with a little extra cash. Oddly enough, Saint Vladimir's Academy, the neighboring all-boys school didn't have any issues with scholarship students from what I had learned of from Lissa, my roommate.

Lissa was the sweetheart of the school. No one could ever hate her. She was rich, yes, but she was the opposite of a snob and I was lucky to have her as my roommate. She was blonde and perky and by far one of my best friends. She was one of the main reasons I stay at the Academy. Plus there is Mia, and then there is my music teacher, Alberta Petrov. Alberta is an internationally ranked music prodigy and I was one of the few selected to be personally taught by her, which of course is why I had received a scholarship.

"Hey Rose," Lissa said, snapping me out of my trance. "You should really get ready for the arrival banquet tonight! What do you think I should wear?"

I replied, "I don't think I'm going to go. Just wear whatever you want to wear!"

"I can't just wear whatever! This is the big arrival party where _Christian_ comes back from touring the Eastern side of Europe! And you _have to_ go, you have to judge whether Christian is worthy of me or not!" Lissa exclaimed in a frenzy.

_Of course_, I thought. Christian was Lissa's big crush. They had begun talking right before the end of last year and Lissa had been dying to see him again but he was on the Starboard trip that toured part of Europe. Lissa swore that I would like Christian and that people from the Starboard trip weren't too awful. She also told me that Christian was nice and not like the rest of the guys from Saint Vladimir's who were all lonely and horny and didn't mind if you were there on a scholarship as long as you gave them some. I still had to witness whether he was worthy of her or not.

"Hey Missy! I do what I want!" I tell her, "Fine, wear the pink one! It compliments your hair! But then, what would I wear?"

The pink was a light spring color and perfect for both her bleach blonde hair and personality. However, I looked awful in spring colors. I could pull off metallic colors barely but half my wardrobe was dark with a few items that were white here and there. I was hardly the one to own a dress too. Knowing this, Lissa went to the closet and pulled out a white dress.

"We've been through this, I don't look good in white!" I replied.

Lissa rolled her eyes at me. "Liar. You just don't like light colors. But you're putting this on because I won't let you wear anything else!"

The finality in her voice told me I had lost this battle and would be wearing a white dress that draped over one of my shoulders. I put in dangle earrings and left knowing I did look gorgeous but that wouldn't matter. No one would see me as I first appeared after they get word that I'm a scholarship student. We stumbled over to the pavilion where the reception was being held. I was greeted with the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. Everything was lit up with white Christmas lights. All the table cloths were black and clearly this theme was spring. Yet other than the white lights, there was no other sign of white. I would stick out like a sore thumb.

Lissa ran off to catch up with some other people on the Starboard trip and also to find Christian. I danced with fellow newbies and after four guys, word had gotten around that I was a scholarship student. Finally Lissa ran up to me with a boy who had brilliant blue eyes and black hair, saying, "This is Christian! Christian, this is Rose!"

Lissa's enthusiasm was contageous and I had to show some energy now. "Nice to meet you," I smiled.

"I have only heard of great things about you, Rose." Christian greeted.

_Wow, he was really a genuine gentleman_, I thought._ But I guess I shouldn't expect any less of a guy for Lissa to pick than him. _

"Oh, Lissa, Rose, this is my sister Tasha, and my friend Dimitri. The one I was telling you about, Liss." Christian grinned.

Tasha had black hair to match Christian's looks. They must be twins. She clung to Dimitri like their lives depended on it and shot me a loook when Dimitri who was about 6 foot 5, looked down to see who I was. I stuck my hand out for him to shake it and both him and Tasha ignored my gesture. Then Lissa mentioned something about being thirsty, so as a group we walked over to get drinks. Christian had poured Lissa, then me a drink. As he was handing me whatever was in the punch bowl, a feminine hand knocked the drink and it landed all over me. Dimitri chuckled lightly and I shot him a glare. Tasha seemed to have moved and that's when I realized she was the one who ruined the dress. Somehow, Tasha and Dimitri quickly made an excuse to leave. Christian excused himself and followed Dimitri.

"Lissa, I met Christian. He seems perfect for you! But really, I'm done being here! I'm sorry that the dress got ruined! I'm not even sure what happened. I'll pay to have it cleaned or restored or whatever you want!" I yelled over the music.

Lissa pulled me into a hug. "Oh don't be ridiculous! It wasn't your fault! And I'm sure Tasha didn't mean it. Be safe and I"ll see you back in the room."

Then I left. On my way back to my dorm, I became intrigued at a conversation being held nearby. I stopped before I could reveal myself to whoever was talking.

"Why couldn't you have acted civilized towards her? Just because she's a scholarship student doesn't mean everyone is like _him_. She seems really nice too!" Christian's voice rang out.

I knew he had to be talking to Dimitri. "I don't care. I can't. I just can't trust anyone like _that_ after what happened."

I didn't know what 'that' was but I didn't like how he was such a jerk and immediately assumed I was bad news. With that, I walked away, furious with what he just assumed I was.

* * *

**The plot is inspired by Elizabeth Eulberg's Prom & Prejudice.**

**This acted more like a prologue, commonly I will have more dialogue. I'm sorry that I kind of repeat the idea of the scholarships and such but it's a major part to grasp and if you forget about scholarships then the point is lost. If you have any questions, PM or review! :)**

**-avariella**


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning I woke up and Lissa was already bustling around, getting ready for church. Today was Sunday, as they knew that students would be tired. Somehow, I didn't see how Lissa was awake because I didn't even remember her coming home until after I fell asleep. Of course, being the perfect child, she attended church every Sunday. I didn't even know what my religion was, I knew I celebrated Christmas, but other than that, my family really didn't have any religious affiliations.

Finally prying my eyes open wider, I looked around. Our room had plain white walls, two full beds, a dresser and a wardrobe for each of us. The bed frame was just a wooden rectangle that held the mattress on top. It had no headboard or foot board however, there were shelves underneath the mattress. The wardrobe was oak and we shared a dresser in between the two beds. The room was fairly big for being a dorm room but according to Lissa, these were the smallest dorms she had ever seen.

Lissa was picking out what outfit to wear to church when I sat up, notifying her that I was awake. "Oh good, you're awake! Now you can help me choose which outfit I should wear! I have to tell you all about last night too!" Lissa rambled.

"Alright, alright," I said while examining the two outfits laying on Lissa's bed. "Wear the blue one, blue is always a good color! What happened last night?"

"After Christian came back in, we slow danced, and then he asked me if I would like to date him. Like, go on dates, and does that mean I'm his girlfriend? I wasn't sure! I've never really done this thing before!" Lissa blurted out.

I laughed at her excitement. "Yes, that means you are his girlfriend. But you have to officially go on a date. And going to the movies is not a real date."

She squealed with excitement and got dressed in black dress pants and a blue blouse, like I had suggested. "Are you sure you don't want to go?"

"I'm sure! I wouldn't want to be in a place where you're supposed to feel accepted, while getting the death glare from 100 other students." I replied.

Lissa rolled her eyes and left. Then I was alone with my thoughts. It was about nine in the morning and I was surprised I hadn't slept in till later. Instead of moping around in my bed, I decided to seize the day. I had a lot of homework to do when having to maintain a grade point average that won't allow you to get lower than a B. I dressed in a ruffle shirt with a pencil skirt. Anything I wore around here would be noticed and snickered at but it gave me comfort that I looked somewhat like I could actually go to this school.

While heading down to the library, I stopped into the cafeteria and grabbed some fruit and a breakfast burrito. However, when I arrived at the three story library, it seemed to be closed. The sign on it said, "Library is closed due to water issues. Please go to Saint Vladimir's library instead." There of course, were other girls behind me reading the sign now, Mia included. In the end, we ended up walking there together.

Once we arrived, the group of snotty rich girls started using their cellphones and drooling over boys in the library. Luckily, Saint Vlad's had an even nicer library than Saint Anna's. At first I didn't know where to begin. So I just grabbed a table and wrote my history and English assignments. Those were easy enough. Then I grabbed the appropriate calculus book. _Oh, joy_. I spent at least an hour just staring at the first problem, unsure of what I was really doing.

Thinking that I needed to take a break, I gathered my belongings and headed upstairs to look at their music books. There was such a variety of books, I just wanted to check the whole shelf out. The books lead around the corner, to none other than Dimitri. Sitting on the floor, also looking at music books but seeming uninterested.

"What are _you_ doing here?" He asked, venom dripping from his voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Our library is closed, sorry. I didn't ask you to be in this section when I was looking for books."

Dimitri smirked. "I was here first though."

"Ugh!" I said, trying to keep control of the volume of my voice. "You act like such a five year old!"

"If I'm five than you must be three." Dimitri countered.

I had nothing more to say to him. I had already dealt with him enough in the past 24 hours. Some parts he didn't even know I knew about. Maybe now would be a good time to grill him on why he hates me. Yet as soon as I was about to talk, my phone buzzed. A text from Lissa.

**Lissa: Where are you? I have to talk to you! Let's grab lunch!**

**Me: I'm at Saint Vlad's library. With Dimitri.**

**Lissa: We should all grab lunch! It'll be fun! Ask him, please?**

Lissa knows I would never tell her know. I didn't really _want_ to leave. I wanted to stay and read all these books. Of course, I would do anything for Lissa though, which meant inviting Dimitri to lunch and having to choose between such a great selection of books. In the end, I picked up seven new music books and four math books. I had nothing better to do.

Dimitri sat there the whole time, leaning over if I wanted to look at the shelf he was sitting in front of. Finally, after I had checked out, I asked, "Lissa invited you and I to lunch, would you like to go?"

Simply, he nodded. Christian had most likely gone to church with Lissa. I didn't know where we were meeting them or where we were going really. But Dimitri had walked in front of me and we walked back to Saint Anna's, near the venue of last night's banquet. Christian and Lissa were waiting there already.

"Sorry we're a little late, Miss Book Worm over here had to take forever to check out." Dimitri said, light in his eyes.

_I don't understand you. One minute you hate me and the next you act like nothing happened!_ is what I wanted to scream at him. But for Lissa's sake, I didn't say a word. Christian ended up driving us to Applebee's. It wasn't necessarily fancy, which surprised me, but good no matter what.

On the way there, Christian and Lissa sat in the front making cute little small talk, occasionally asking Dimitri or me a question. I would answer politely and go back to staring out the window. I couldn't even look at his handsome face. Yes, he was a sight for sore eyes, but I couldn't tell him that. Especially since Dimitri hates me. When we arrived, Christian offered to pay for everyone in our party's meal. This made me feel even more like a charity case, yet Christian's offer made it seem okay. As long as he was paying for everyone.

While we were waiting for them to bring out our meal, Dimitri asked, "So why so many music books?"

"I'm here on a music scholarship." I said simply.

His face remained neutral, which was at least better than scowling. He nodded. "Why so many math books?"

Every answer would consist of me telling him about my scholarship. "I have to maintain good grades to stay. Why were you in the music section?"

He just shrugged. I wish I would've just shrugged when people asked me questions they didn't want the answers to. Finally our meal came out and the rest of lunch was boring. When we got back, Christian dropped us off and left after saying goodbye to Lissa.

"Isn't Christian so sweet to pay for the bill? Dimitri isn't bad either!" Lissa pushed. She knew she was pushing it too.

"Yes, Christian is wonderful! I'm surprised I made it through lunch without strangling Dimitri, though." I replied.

Lissa shook her head, "You're not even giving him a chance! You probably heard it wrong anyways."

I was sick of Lissa telling me to just accept Dimitri, as pigheaded as he was. Instead I told her I was going to go practice, which I was, just to avoid her telling me about how I should give him a try and everything else. I loved her, but she was really getting on my nerves about Dimitri.

Walking into the practice room, everyone else faded away. I decided to set up a system and finish three math problems, play a song. Eventually I was done with all my calculus work and could play as much as I wanted. Somehow though, my mind kept drifting off to Dimitri. _What was his problem? Why was he in the music section? Why couldn't he just answer me?_ I thought, frustrated.

* * *

**I'm sorry it took so long or if you think it's awful. It was kind of a filler chapter. I have had a lot of rehearsals for my music stuff. Also, if you want to suggest something to me, go ahead! I kind of didn't know exactly where I was taking this story, but now I do. Anyways, thanks! And I know I said I'd have more dialogue but music is internal and so I couldn't think of a good conversation to write. What's your favorite instrument? PM me or review or both. **


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